hey everyone i am new to this part of the forum i used to be on the monitor part allot but i have recently decided not to get a monitor. i was wondering if you could all post pics of your caiman, cages, tanks, or ponds.
i have been looking into spectacled caiman’s for a while now and have been highly considering getting one around Christmas time. i will start him off in a 60 gallon rubbermaid type enclosure for roughly the first year, then switch him into a 6x3x3 and so on until he gets his 8x16 plus foot cage.
thanks for the pics and input
kirk

Aren’t you the guy who was dead set on getting a croc monitor? If you thought the people on .nl where tough on you getting a croc monitor, you haven’t seen anything yet. I think it would be wiser of you to go with a water or croc monitor than a caiman.

I’m sorry to seem rude reed
but on what terms can you tell me what to do or what i can or cant have i don’t no how out of date your profile is but it seems all you have is a Savannah monitor and a red ear slider which would put you around the same experience level as me. i also have 6 months of volunteer work at a reptile store that actually gives a damn about what we Carry and whom we sell to.
now i may not have allot of experience with crocodillians but i have a little bit and don’t need you telling me what i cant have
now saying this i didn’t ask to be talked down to i simply asked to see habitats of caiman’s
thanks
kirk

Hey, nothing against you man, but these are dangerous animals. Why did you decide not to get a monitor? They are great animals, and much safer and fun to be around.

Quote:

i don’t no how out of date your profile is but it seems all you have is a Savannah monitor and a red ear slider which would put you around the same experience level as me.

I’ve been keeping reptiles for 10 years. I’ve maintained beardies, leos, various lizards of the sceloporus genus, ratsnakes, corn snakes, bp’s, various turtles, salamanders and newts, TONS of native (Texas) herps, the list goes on and on and on. And long ago I helped take care of some amer. alligators. I have also been on thousands of herping trips, and have several journals full of observations (including alligator info) which I would be happy to share (just PM me.).

I would Have to agree the monitor would def be your best choice regardless of what the ppl in that forum say
if you have to choose between a Caiman and a Monitor I would say go with the monitor every time. A caiman requires years of research and preparation if you are actually a responsible person and are going to keep the animal for the duration of its life. This is beside the fact as reedie said they are much more dangerous than monitors.

Hey this is my first time on a forum. I have a 15 inch Dwarf Caiman, I have him currently in a 90 gallon tank for now, I?m building him a better enclosure, its going to be indoors since I live in Canada. I would appreciate any pics people have of there?s and some good info on building a suitable enclosure . I would prefere to fiberglass a background , and possibly most of the land area for a natural environment as possible . My caiman is currently living with a snapping turtle , a baby i raised from a small stream half frozen , neither has shown any signs of aggression towards each other , they bask together and are found with in inch?s of each other most of the time. My caiman Genghis, is healthily and is definitely the boss of his domain . I have a lot of respect for my animals , I do understand that he is and always will be a alligator . I would appreciate any help or advice that anyone can give me on any subject for my caiman . I have read most post?s on the caiman site and I?m a little shocked that some people on here want to seem to attack people than rather hep them.

I don?t have ten years exp, this is my first Dwarf Caiman , I?m learning and researching as much as i possibly can So if you have only negative thoughts or opinions please keep them to your selves , everything else is greatly greatly appreciated!!

You probably wont have any problems now, but it would be a good idea to separate the Snapping Turtle and Caiman in the near future. Many people have tried to house these together and it almost always ends up with the Caiman losing some toes, the tip of his tail, or even an entire limb.

Hey thanks , I’m constantly checking and making sure there both OK at the first sign of aggression towards one another , they will separated hopefully before I’m too late, they seem to actually like each other but they both are natural predators so i will have to see how things pan out between them , just this morning after I feed Genghis, a mouse he did most of his killing on land and drag him under water and left him there in front of Shelly the snapper , she ate most of him , Genghis went to catch two fish , does he actually prefer fish too mice ? or just wanting to eat him later after he rots a bit ?

It maybe be a combination of both. I know my American Alligator will eat just about anything I offer him but he def. has his favorites. Mine will also when i feed him mice he will drag it into the water and hold it in his mouth for quite some time before he eats it.
yeah just continue to offer him a variety which it sounds like you are, you know like a kid dont just let em eat what they want they need to have some variety for good health.
yeah the snapper most likely just ate it before the Caiman was interested enough. no biggy as long as he’s not eating solely fish.

He said post pics of your set ups! Not tell him what to get. Itâ€™s his choice, itâ€™s obvious your opinions wonâ€™t change his mind, so why not help him so if he gets one he can do the best he can do provide a good home for it.

Three feet is way too narrow for any long term housing. Most sorces advise at least twice the length of your Caiman as a guide to the width of the enclosure. My Schniders Caiman has allready outgrown his 3 1/2â€™ pond. Iâ€™m in the process of enlarging his pond area, but his entire encloser is 8â€™ by 8â€™. He is about 23"-24" long now. Hereâ€™s a photo of his "digs" taken this spring.

Itâ€™s not cool guys to go back a personâ€™s recent posts and use them against that person. It happens so much it really is becoming annoying to ask about any other animal then a leopard gecko or a Bearded dragon. I can see why you may want to warn the person but most likely people wonâ€™t want to be told they canâ€™t get something. Esspecially, in this buisness.